Making It Right
by Steamed.Artichoke.43
Summary: After everything that they've been through, Shelby is determined to make Rachel see that she did what she did for a reason.  A/U


Hey guys, Sammi here! Now I know I said I wouldn't be able to post anything for the next week or so, but I managed to sneak out of my mother's line of sight, and escape from some dreaded 'family time' with the truck load of cousins, long enough to quickly post this little 'thing' that I've been meaning to put up.

So here it is:** #3 in the Mama Bear Series. **

Hope you like it :)

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**Disclaimer: These characters are property of Mr. Ryan Murphy. I'm only borrowing them for some mindless entertainment.**

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Stepping out of her car and firmly slamming the door the moment she got out, Shelby Corcoran wrapped her coat tightly about herself and briskly made her way to the front doors of McKinley High hoping to escape the quickly falling snow and the frigid January air.

She was a woman on a mission and nothing, not snow nor wind, was going to deter her from it. With a sense of purpose in every determined step, she made her way across the school building and towards McKinley's choir room.

Once she arrived, she looked in through the small window on the door and watched as Will Schuester directed his kids through their practice session. While they still had a ways to go before they could truly be considered a force to be reckoned with, Shelby had to admit they were quite the dedicated team. Despite losing at Regionals the previous year, they still maintained their upbeat and positive attitude. And that alone took heart.

Rather than disrupt Will's time, she opted to waiting outside until the end of their scheduled practice session. After all who was she to interrupt it? Had the roles been reversed, she wouldn't appreciate an unexpected intrusion during her own club's practice time, therefore she would grant them the same courtesy. So, instead, she walked over to the nearby wall and leaned against it to wait out the remainder of the meeting. After a quick glance at her watch, she guessed that with it nearing five o'clock, she wouldn't be kept waiting long anyway.

As expected, minutes later she heard Will dismiss his team, wishing each of them a safe and fun filled weekend. Shelby maintained her stance on the opposite wall of the door, allowing her full view of the rowdy teens as they left the room. She watched on as the various members of New Directions exited in groups of twos and threes, all babbling about their plans for the upcoming weekend. Her eyes followed the group as they all exited through another nearby door, and presumably made their way to the parking lot to get started on their aforementioned plans. The door opened once more and Shelby watched as Will Schuester also exited carefully balancing his bag, a rather large pile of papers and at least a dozen folders.

"Well, well, well. Never thought I'd see the day when Shelby Corcoran would be caught spying on us," Will commented, a bright smile gracing his features. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Shelby remained stone-faced, completely ignoring the witty remark. "I need to talk to Rachel."

Will's smile fell almost instantly. While Rachel may not be the greatest model of modesty and teamwork, she was still one of his students. And certainly one of his most dedicated, so he couldn't help feeling protective towards her. Especially after everything that had befallen the poor girl the previous year. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked, slowly stepping towards Shelby. "I realize it's not my place, Shelby, but from what I've heard of your last encounter and how Rachel's dealing with it, I don't think you should even be here."

Shelby allowed a moment's pause before responding. "You know, you're right, Will. It's not your place," she said coolly, her eyes just as remote and uncaring as her tone.

Will Schuester was the only thing standing between her and her daughter right now, literally, and she'd be damned if he would turn her away. Besides, he should be that last person handing out moral and ethical advice after the various problems that plagued his professional and personal life last year. Shelby was prepared to sidestep around him, until she caught the slight hurt in Will's eyes at her insensitive comment, causing her hardened features to soften. Rather than insulting the man before her, she really should be thanking him. Admittedly, Will was only looking out for Rachel's best interest and here she was telling him that he had no business doing so. When in fact, she should be thankful that her daughter was surrounded by people who obviously cared so much about her.

"I'm sorry Will," she sighed, her gaze falling to the floor. "That was out of line. I'm at my wit's end here and things cannot continue like this. I thought if I could just speak to her for just a minute, we could work this out. I guess, I-I just I need to make it right with her, you know? I mean, she's still my daughter," she replied, sadly.

After some contemplation, Will nodded at Shelby's plea. He knew that begging was simply beneath her, so for Shelby to have turned to such methods meant that the situation was of the utmost importance to her. And she was right. No matter what happened, Rachel was still her daughter. So who was he to stand in the way? "She's still inside," he informed her, pointing his head towards the door. "She wanted to get a head start on the glee assignment I gave the kids to work on for the next few weeks or so."

"Thanks, Will."

He waved her off. "I just hope you know what you're doing," he warned. "I may not know exactly what happened between you two, but I've seen the effects of it through Rachel. I don't want her to get hurt anymore than she already has. Rachel's a very special kid…"

Shelby listened closely to the advice she was being given, tears forming in her eyes at the well deserved lecture that was hidden beneath the surface of Will's well meaning tone.

"…but I'd be willing to bet you had a little something to do with that," Will concluded with a wink.

Shelby thanked him once again and found herself smiling faintly. It was probably the first real smile she'd given anyone in weeks. Feeling slightly better about what she was about to do, she watched Will walk down the hall and out of sight, before taking a deep, calming breath. Pushing herself off of the wall, Shelby approached the door and once more looked through the glass. Spotting the most integral part of her 'mission', and possibly even her life, stepping up to the piano, Shelby quietly slipped into the room and pulled the door behind her.

"Mr. Schue, I'll be fine by myself."

Shelby watched her daughter for a moment. Rachel was currently standing beside the piano with her head bent over, poring over various sheet music. Taking a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves, Shelby stepped forward and loudly cleared her throat, in hopes of garnering her daughter's attention. She offered a small wave and a smile, once Rachel finally looked up to her. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, forgoing any greetings or even formalities for that matter.

Shelby winced at the anger and bite she caught in her daughter's tone. While she had experienced that tone several times throughout her life, it never truly seemed to actually hurt until she'd just heard it leave her daughter's lips. She knew that in light of what she had done to her daughter not too long ago, the anger was more than appropriate. Actually, she'd be worried if Rachel wasn't angry. And yet a small part of her had been hopeful that Rachel's resentment would have died down over time. Clearly that had been wishful thinking on her part. Because if Rachel's defensive stance was anything to go by, her daughter was probably even angrier than the last time they had spoken.

The pair matched stares, brilliant emerald meeting chocolate brown. For several moments, neither moved, blinked nor even breathed. It was a battle of wills and neither mother nor daughter was willing to give in.

However, the intensity in the petite brunette's eyes soon became greater than Shelby could take and she found herself looking away. Thus losing her first stare down. And with her teenage daughter at that. "I was hoping we could talk, Rach," Shelby told her, holding her hands up in submission. "Just talk. Can we do that?"

Rachel knit her brow and glared at her mother. "I have nothing to say to you," she said coldly, haphazardly stuffing the music sheets back into random folders and then into her bag pack. With one last look at Shelby, Rachel swung her bag over her shoulder and brushed past her mother. And in true diva fashion, Rachel executed the perfect exit, loudly slamming the door behind her.

Shelby jumped at the sound. That had certainly not gone as planned. At all. But, having never been one to give up, she turned on her heel and chased after her daughter. "Rachel!" She burst through the door, calling after her daughter fully expecting to run into Rachel once she emerged from the choir room. What she _hadn't_ expected was to come out to a vacant hallway. She looked in each direction and came up with the same result. No Rachel. No echoing footsteps. Just silence. Shelby was completely baffled. Rachel had left only moments ago, so how could she have just _disappeared_? Picking a random hallway, she began to seek out her daughter. Prepared to search through the entire school if necessary. Even if it took the rest of the afternoon, she was going to get Rachel to talk to her.

Nearly an hour later, Shelby was sure she had searched every inch of McKinley High. She'd checked the gym, the cafeteria, the locker room, several bathrooms and just about every classroom door that hadn't been locked. She'd considered checking the field and the bleachers, but Shelby was more than positive that with the heavy snowfall Rachel wouldn't risk contracting a cold just to avoid her, no matter how angry she was. Or would she? Shelby heaved a sigh and began to make her way out to the field.

As she was passing by the April Rhodes Civic Pavilion, she heard music coming from within. Listening closely, she recognized a familiar melody. As well as the voice that was currently accompanying it. Pulling open the heavy steel door, she stepped into the dark auditorium, preferring to remain in the shadows. She looked to the stage and listened to her daughter sing her heart out.

_I'd sooner buy, defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity_

_I think I'll try defying gravity_

_And you won't bring me down_

_Bring me down_

_Ohhh_

As she listened to Rachel's voice reverberate throughout the auditorium, Shelby slowly made her way down the aisle, clapping only once Rachel completed the final note.

"I didn't know anyone else was in here," Rachel mumbled, somewhat embarrassed at her makeshift audience. She then rolled her eyes once she realized her audience was compromised of just her mother.

The applause ceased once Shelby reached the edge of the stage and climbed the steps to join her daughter. "That was amazing, Rach. Sang it better than I ever could," Shelby told her genuinely. She then watched on in alarm as her daughter seemingly ignored the compliment, grabbed her bag, as well as a miniature boom box off to the side, and moved to make her way off the stage. Once again, Rachel aimed to storm past her. Only this time, Shelby's hand shot out and gently gripped Rachel's. "Honey, talk to me. _Please_."

Rachel stopped walking and her eyes dropped to her hand. Glancing over her shoulder briefly, she caught the pleading look in her mother's eyes as well as in her tone. She'd never heard her mother sound so distressed, so saddened. She really didn't want to talk to her mom right now, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She could only hide for so long and McKinley wasn't that big of a school. And her dad wouldn't be picking her up for another hour anyhow. So sighing deeply, she resigned herself to at least _listen_ to what her mother had to say. If only for a moment. Wrenching free of her mother's grip, she set her belongings on the floor and turned to face her. With her arms crossed, she stared up at Shelby expectantly, waiting for her to begin talking.

Relieved to have finally succeeded in getting Rachel's full attention, Shelby began. "What I did to you was wrong. I am more than willing to admit that. It was inconsiderate, selfish, and immoral and you definitely didn't deserve it," Shelby said softly. "I guess I was just scared. I wasn't wrong when I said you're practically an adult. You may only be fifteen, Honey, but you're growing up so fast and I didn't know what else to do. I suppose I thought it was the only thing I could do. I did it for you, as much as I did it for myself. And I while it took me a while to realize just how distorted my logic was, I _did_ eventually realize it. Anyway I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry. And while I don't expect you to just let it go, I would hope that one day we can get passed this. But always know that no matter what happens that I do love you Rachel. And I always will." Wiping away the tears that had accumulated but refused to fall from her eyes, Shelby turned her gaze to her daughter to find her in the same predicament. Rachel's eyes were full of unshed tears and she was biting her lip to the point Shelby was surprised she hadn't drawn blood.

The pair was then engulfed in silence as they commenced yet another staring contest. This time, though, Rachel was the one to break away. She then proceeded to careen into her mother, causing Shelby to stumble slightly before wrapping her arms tightly around her. Rachel sniffled into her mother's shoulder as Shelby hugged her close and fought back her own sobs.

After taking a moment to let the tears subside and to gain a hold on their emotions, Rachel stepped back and looked up at her mom. "I love you, too, you know," she told her with a smile. "And…I forgive you."

Shelby released a shaky breath and wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "So we can put this all behind us, right?"

Rachel nodded, quickly bending to retrieve her belongings from where she'd previously dropped them, before they headed for the stairs to get off the stage. "Definitely," Rachel answered with a smile. "I have to admit, Mom, I never realized how much of my time I spend either at your house or with you. It felt strange not going on one of our impromptu shopping sprees every other Saturday, and spending Sunday afternoon on the couch watching a Barbra Streisand marathon alone just isn't as fun. I tried to get Finn to join me, but he kept falling asleep. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, is that I really missed you these past few weeks."

Shelby gave her daughter's shoulders a squeeze, before dropping a kiss into her hair. "I missed you too, Baby," she replied. "So much." They shared matching smiles at the sentiment and continued in silence up the main aisle.

"Hey, Mom? Can I ask you something?" Rachel said, turning to her mother as they stopped in front of the auditorium's rear doors.

"Sure. Shoot."

"What possessed you to read my journal in the first place? I mean, as my mom and a fellow woman, I guess I thought you of all people would understand the sanctity of my private thoughts. And you had to have known I would've found out eventually," Rachel said, staring up at her mother intently. "So why do it?"

Shelby had anticipated Rachel posing such a question, and thus had her answer ready and waiting. "Because while we may talk all the time, I still feel like there's a side of you I will never know. Kind of like how I never got to know you when you were younger. I dunno, I just thought there was more to you and in a moment of what I now realize was sheer insanity, I thought what you wouldn't' tell me willingly I could possibly glean from your diary," Shelby replied wretchedly. "I know _now_ that it was probably not my best idea."

"Definitely not," Rachel agreed, completely missing her mom's hint at sarcasm. "And just for the record, I tell you just about everything that happens and anything else you're more than welcome to just ask, y'know."

"Really?" Shelby inquired honestly surprised at her daughter's candidness. She watched on in somewhat of a daze as Rachel exited the auditorium. "I can ask you anything? As in _anything_?"

Rachel's laugh echoed in the empty halls."Yes, Mom. Anything."

"Well in that case," Shelby murmured. She quickly ran to catch up with her daughter. "What exactly happened between you and Finn back in October because I didn't rea—"

"Mom!"

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Anyway you know the drill...

_Good? Rotten Tomatoes? or just plain ehh? Lemme know._

_Till next time..._


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